Lubricator.



WILLIAM H. BEATTY,

0F BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA, ASSIGNOR '10 CALVIN R. WAID,

0F BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA.

LUBRIOATOTR.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. BEATTY, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Birmingham, county of Jefferson, and State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lubricators, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part thereof.

My invention relates to improvements in lubricators, and particularly to that type of lubricator adapted to be employed in a steam line for feeding lubricating material with the steam, to an engine in which the steam is to be employed as a motive agent.

In this type of lubricator considerable difficulty has been encountered in the past in the thickening or congealing of the lubricating material in cold weather, the same taking place to such an extent that the feeding thereof would stop, and this trouble is, of course, particularly encountered where the luhricator is employed in out door work,

such as in connection with engines used on exterior construction work;

A lubrlcator constructed in accordance with my present mvention 1s mtended to overcome this defect, and to this end is provided with a tube or conduit which traverses the reservoir containing the lubricating material, and with means for effecting.

a constant circulation of steam therethrough. This tube is conveniently made a portion of the bypass in the main steam pipe in which the lubricator is located, and into which the lubricating material is gradually fed.

My invention also consists in many novel details of construction and combinations of parts, such as will be fully pointed out hereinafter, and in order that my invention may be thoroughly understood, I will now proceed to describe an embodiment thereof, having reference to the accompanylng drawings lllustrating the same, and will their point out the novel features in claims.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a viewin central vertical transverse section through a lubricator constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view at right angles through a portion of the same including the sight indicator. Fig. 3 is a view in central vertical transverse section through a multi-feed lubricator embodying my invention. Fig. 4 is a view in Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed. June 9, 1910, Serial No. 566,078. Renewed August PatentedOct. 1, 1912-. 7, 1912. Serial No. 713,941.

horizontal section therethrough upon the line H of Fig. 3.

Referring first of all to the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the device com prises in general a main casing 5, a downwardly projecting tubular extension 6 fitted in screw-threaded relation therewith, a lower head 7 for closing the lower end thereof, an upwardly extending tubular extensions also fitted in screw-threaded relation with the casing, and a head 9 for closing the upper end thereof. A horizontal bore 10 constituting a feed chamber extends transversely across the said casing, the same being closedat its opposite ends by glass diaphragms 11 held in place by screw caps 12.

The device is intended to be inserted in a loop or bypass around a section of steam pipe employed for conducting steam as a motive agent to the engine to be lubricated, and the upper head 8 is provided with a screw-threaded opening 13 for receiving an inlet pipe connection from the said steam pipe, while the lower head 7 is provided with a similar connection 14 for receiving the end of the return section of pipe thereto. There is adirect connection for steam through the lubricator, the casing 5 being provided with a duct or conduit 15 extending from the upper to the lower portion thereof, the upper portion being provided with a stand pipe'16, the upper end of which projects above the normal level of liquid within the tubular extension, while the lower end connects with a vertical pipe 17 which traverses the chamber inclosed by the tubular extension 6 and the head 7 The latter chamber is designed to contain the lubricating material, while the chamber inclosed by the upper tubular extension 8 and the head 9 is designed as a condensing chamber. Because of the fact that the steam pipe 17 runs through the lubricating material containing chamber it will follow that heat from the steam will be imparted to the lubricating material in the chamber whereby freezing or congelation of the same will be prevented. The condenser chamber is provided with a second stand pipe 18, the upper end of which preferably terminates at a lower level than the upper edge of the stand pipe 16. This pipe acts as an overflow pipe, the level of liquid in the condenser chamber being designed to be kept normally at the level of the upper edge of the pipe 18. The pipe at its lower end connects with apassage 19 which leads to the sight feed chamber or bore 10, and a feed passage 20 also extends into the said sight feed chamber from the lubricating material containing chamber, the latter said passage 20 being controlled by a needle valve 21. The casing 5 is also provided with a passage 22 which connects the lower end of the condenser chamber with the lower end of the lubricating material containing chamber, a portion of the said passage being included in a dependent pipe 23, the lower end of which terminates just above the inner face of the head 7 The operation of the device is as follows: Steam admitted through the pipe connection constituting the by-pass enters through the upper head 9 into the condensing chamber. A certain amount of this steam condenses and gradually fills the chamber until the liquid therein reaches its normal level at the termination of the overflow pipe 18. The steam which does not condense passes down through the stand pipe 16, through the conduit 15 and pipe 17, back to the main steam pipe, but in passing through the pipe 17 it warms up the lubricating material which surrounds it, thereby keeping the lubricating material in a liquid condition. The overflow liquid from the condensing chamber passes down through the overflow pipe 18 through the passage 19 and fills up the sight feed chamber 10. The said liquid in the condensing chamber is also in communication through the conduit 22 and pipe 23 With the lower end of the lubricating material containing chamber, the lubricating material floating upon the top of the water and eing gradually forced upward through the feed passage 20 by the weight of the column of water in the condensing chamber, conduit 22, and pipe 23, whereby the lubricating material will be fed drop by drop into the sight feed chamber whence it will float up through the branch passage 24 into the conduit 15, and thence through the pipe 17 to the main steam pipe. The drops of oil will rise up through the water contained in the sight feed chamber and will be gradually floated off into the conduit 15 by the accumulation of the waters of condensation in the condensing chamber which gradually and continuously flow down through the pipe 18 and passage 19 therein.

The casing is provided with a stoppered opening 25 which leads into the lubricating material containing chamber and through which the chamber may be recharged when the lubricating material has been used up. A suitable valved vent 26 is also provided at the lower end of the chamber through which the same may be drained when desired.

In order to prevent the condenser from feed passages 2O being emptied when the lubricating material reservoir is being recharged, I conveniently provide a valve 27 in the passage 22. By closing this valve the reservoir may be opened freely without escape of the liquid from the condensing chamber, as will be well understood.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the constant circulation of steam through the lubricating material containing chamber will keep the lubricating material in proper condition to be fed through the device no matter in how cold a position the lubricator as a whole may be located. It will also be noted that I have devised an exceedingly simple and inexpensive structure, the casing merely comprising a casting provided with several screw threaded extensions, and otherwise requiring no machining or finishing of the parts, the remainder of the structure comprising in the main, tubes or pipes and cast heads which other than their screw threads are also unfinished.

In Figs. 3 and 4 I have shown the same principles applied to a multiple feed lubricator. In this case there are three transverse bores 10, 10 and 10 constituting sight feed chambers, all of them being in communication with the duct conduit 15 at their upper ends, the said bores 10 and 10 having branch passages 15= and 15 leading to the passage 15 for this purpose. The additional feed chambers 10 and 10 are connected with the condensing chamber through stand. pipes 18 and 18 and passages 19 and 19 in the same manner as the feed chamber 10 is connected therewith through the stand pipe 18 and passage 19, and similarly the said feed chambers 10 and 10 are provided with and 20 from the lubricating material containing chamber, the said feed passages being controlled by needle valves 21 and 21 and with dischar e passages 14 and 14 leading from the branch passages 15*, 15 for connection with parts to be lubricated.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the addition of a very few parts is all that is necessary to produce a multi-feed lubricator and that in a similar manner a large number of substantially independent feed connections may be provided.

What I claim is:

1. A lubricator provided with a condensing chamber, a feed chamber, a lubricatingmaterial-chamber, and a tube traversing the latter said chamber, the said lubricator having ports and passages which connect the upper end of the condensing chamber with the said tube, the lower end of the said condensing chamber with the lower end of the said lubricatingchamber, and the said condensing chamber at a point intermediate therein with the said feed chamber, the said feed chamber also having branch passages to the first said connection and to the upper end of the said lubricating chamber.

2. A lubricator comprising a casing, an upwardly extending tubular extension at the upper end thereof, a downwardly extending extension at the lower end thereof, and heads closing the ends of the said extensions, the said casing having a steam passage extending from one of the said extensions to the other, another passage also extending from one of the said extensions to the other, a feed chamber, branch passages from the said feed chamber to the two said extensions, and to the first said passage, the first said passage connecting wlth the interior of the tubular extension, at a level therein higher than the latter, and the said branch passage connecting therein at a point intermediate the two, the second said passage connecting with the lower tubular extension near the bottom thereof, the said lubricator being provided with a tube extending through the said lower extension, the first said passage being connected with the said tube.

3. A lubric-ator provided with a condensing chamber, a feed chamber, and a lubricating-material-containing-chamber, provided with an inlet for steam connecting with the upper end of the condensing chamber, a connection from the upper end of the condensing chamber to a point at one side of the lubricating material containing chamher, a tube connected therewith and traversing the lubricating material-containingchamber, the opposite end thereof constituting the dischar e from the lubricator, I a branch assage om the feed chamber into the sai conduit, a connection from the lower end of the said condensing chamber to the lower end of the said lubricating-material containing chamber, a connection from the said feed chamber to the upper end of the condensing chamber, the same connecting therewith, however, at a level beneath that at which the steam connection leaves the said condensing chamber, and a feed passage connecting the upper end of the lubricating material containing chamher with the said feed chamber.

4. A lubricator provided with a condensing chamber, a plurality of feed chambers, a lubricating material chamber, and a tube traversing the latter said chamber, the said lubricator having bores and passages which connect the upper end of the condensing chamber with the said tube, the lower end of the said condensing chamber with the lower end of the said lubricating chamber, and the said condensing chamber, at a level intermediate therein, with the said feed chambers respectively, the said feed chambers also having independent branch passages to the first said connection and to the upper end of the said lubricating chamber.

WILLIAM H. BEATTY.

Witnesses:

FRANK F. Morrnr'r, EDGAR J. Rows.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, cWashington, D. 0. 

